Can We Get A Do Over?—The Worst NBA Picks of the Past Decade

As fans, sometimes you look back at what your favorite team has done on draft night and wonder what might have been if only the general manager had drafted a different player.

The right player can transform a team to a playoff contender. Adding the right player can also make a playoff contender into a NBA champion.

The difficulty of course is that no one has a perfect crystal ball to always make the right choice. However, if each team had a chance to do it over with one of their draft picks this past decade, the following picks discussed below would likely be at the top of their list... (of course, no one is currently advocating for changes to the guest list to NBA draft parties).

Boston Celtics

The Celtics did a good job drafting talent during the past decade and their recent playoff run is a testament to the foundation that they built with their draft selections.

However, the Celtics took a flyer in 2001 on forward Kedrick Brown which they probably regret. Boston reached to the junior college level and took the First Team Junior College All-American from Okaloosa-Walton Community College. Brown bounced around the league for four years before finding his way to a team in the Turkey Basketball League.

Two picks later another forward was taken by the New Jersey Nets who probably would have fit in well in Boston—Richard Jefferson.

Atlanta Hawks

In 2006, the Hawks selected Duke Center Shelden Williams with the fifth overall pick in the draft. The selection of Williams appeared sound as Williams was at the time only the third player in ACC history to score more than 1,500 points, grab more than 1,000 rebounds and block more than 350 shots.

The Hawks should have thought scoring over defense, as the next three players selected were Brandon Roy, Randy Foye and Rudy Gay.

Charlotte Bobcats

In 2006, Adam Morrison was the third pick in the draft for the Charlotte Bobcats. Morrison had a solid first year campaign, but after tearing the ACL in his knee in the off-season, Morrison has never been the same player and is now at the end of the Los Angeles Lakers bench.

Players among the top ten picks that Mr. Jordan would have been better off drafting in the first round: Brandon Roy, Randy Foye or Rudy Gay.

Chicago Bulls

In 2002, the Bulls went with Jason (Jay) Williams of Duke. Williams had an impressive resume despite leaving after his junior year–NCAA champion, Naismith College Player of the Year, and sixth leading scorer in Duke basketball history. Williams was no slouch in the classroom graduating with a degree in Sociology in three years.

Unfortunately, Williams was involved in a terrible motorcycle accident after his first year, in which severed the main nerve in his left leg, tore several ligaments including his ACL, and fractured his pelvis. What might have been for Williams and the Bulls?

Three players drafted in the top ten in 2002 that had solid careers in the NBA and would have looked good in red–Amare Stoudemire, Caron Butler and Mike Dunleavy.

Cleveland Cavaliers

Difficult to criticize what the Cavaliers did with their first draft choice in 2004; however, Cleveland missed an opportunity to give LeBron a solid forward to partner with when they chose Luke Jackson of Oregon with the tenth pick. Jackson had a solid pedigree as a good all-around player coming out of Oregon, as he finished his career in the top ten of nine offensive statistical categories with the Ducks.

Unfortunately, the Cavaliers should have continued with their high school youth movement and gone with Josh Smith or Al Jefferson.

Dallas Mavericks

In 2000, the Mavericks decided to go with Big East Defensive Player of the Year, Etan Thomas, with the 12th pick of the draft. Thomas has been a decent defensive player in the league averaging six points, five rebounds and one block a game.

Dallas should have continued to go after foreign players on its rosters and picked Hidayet Turkoglu (12 points, four rebounds) who lasted until the 16th pick in the draft.

Detroit Pistons

Detroit General Manager took a chance by selecting Darko Milicic with the second overall pick in 2003. The next three players selected that year were Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh and Dwayne Wade.

The Pistons won the NBA Championship in 2004, but they might have had an opportunity to contend for several NBA Championships and make their claim for team of the decade, had they not taken Milicic and instead taken Carmelo, Bosh or Wade.

Denver Nuggets

The Nuggets decided to take a risk in drafting Russian big man Nickoloz Tskitishvili. Tskitishvili at 7'0, 245 pounds had the size, but he didn't have the moves to play with the big boys in the NBA. While the ninth pick of the draft, Amare Stoudemire, had not yet fully matured, he definitely had the heart of a lion to mix it up in the post.

Golden State Warriors

In 2005, the Warriors picked Arizona State Sun Devil Ike Diogu with the ninth overall pick in the draft. Diogu had a solid career at ASU as he was named Pac-10 freshman of the year and Pac-10 player of the year after his junior year. Diogu has been a serviceable player in the NBA, but the very next pick in the draft, Andrew Bynum, could have changed the direction of the franchise.

Houston Rockets

The 2001 draft class was not an unusually deep draft class. The Rockets went with Brandon Armstrong, a 6’5 guard from Pepperdine with the 24th overall pick, in the draft. Armstrong played a couple of seasons in the NBA averaging only two points a game for his brief career before heading overseas.

Two picks later, the Naismith High School Player of the Year, Gerald Wallace was selected. Wallace who averaged 18 points and 10 rebounds last year was selected to his first all-star game.

Houston Rockets

The 2001 draft class was not an unusually deep draft class. The Rockets went with Brandon Armstrong, a 6’5 guard from Pepperdine with the 24th overall pick, in the draft. Armstrong played a couple of seasons in the NBA averaging only two points a game for his brief career before heading overseas.

Two picks later, the Naismith High School Player of the Year, Gerald Wallace was selected. Wallace who averaged 18 points and 10 rebounds last year was selected to his first all-star game.

Indiana Pacers

At the end of the first round it is difficult to find solid value for your team. In 2004, the Pacers were looking for some size and defensive presence when they drafted the 7’0 David Harrison from Colorado.

Harrison was the all-time leading shot blocker in Colorado Basketball history with 225 blocks when he was drafted by Indiana.

Harrison had solid journeyman numbers for the Pacers, but off the court and clubhouse issues resulted in Harrison leaving the Pacers for ball in Beijing.
The very next player drafted was a solid defensive player, reported good teammate and has not been known to get into trouble off the court–Anderson Varejao.

Los Angeles Clippers

The Clippers have left many draft picks on the table over the years. In 2002, the Clippers went with Chris Wilcox with the eighth pick in the draft. The thought of choosing a player who had just won a national championship with the Maryland Terrapins to bring an expectation of winning to the Clipper organization was a good idea on paper, however the ninth pick, Amare Stoudemire, would have resulted in more actual wins for Los Angeles.

Los Angeles Lakers

Brian Cook was a solid late first round pick in 2003 with the 24th overall pick shooting nearly 80 percent from the free throw line, 45 percent from the field and a career average of six points a game.

The Lakers however would have loved to have added Josh Howard or Leandro Barbosa to the purple and gold.

Miami Heat

The Miami Heat with the second overall pick in the 2008 draft had to decide which offensive weapon to pair with Dwayne Wade—Michael Beasley or O.J. Mayo. Beasley has been productive with Miami, but he has not been as consistent as management would have like him to be as a member of the Heat. Mayo in hindsight appears to have been the better choice for the Heat to pair with Wade.

Milwaukee Bucks

The Bucks selected Marcus Haislip, the 6’10 230 forward from the University of Tennessee, with their 13th pick in the 2002 draft. Haislip saw very little action as he played in less than 80 games in his first three years in the league before leaving to play in Europe. Haislip did return to the NBA this season, appearing in 10 games before asking for his release from the San Antonio Spurs to play in Greece.

Bucks fans would have had reason to shout fear the deer prior to this season if Milwaukee had gone with John Salmons or Tayshaun Prince.

Memphis Grizzlies

Memphis had to believe they were going to get a great player when they selected Shane Battier with the sixth pick in the 2001 draft. Battier was a College Player of the Year and won a National Championship at Duke. Battier has been a solid dependable player but not a great player worthy of being drafted with the sixth pick of the draft.

Joe Johnson was available four picks later. Johnson while not in the same stratosphere as Kobe, LeBron, and Wade would have been a better selection given his career numbers of 21 points, five rebounds and five assists.

Minnesota Timberwolves

Timberwolves fans knew they were in trouble when Commissioner Stern had difficulty pronouncing his name at the podium–Ndubi Ebi. The high school phenom never lived up to the hype. Ebi played primarily in the NBA developmental league before landing in the Italian Basketball League.

Ebi was taken with the 26th pick in the draft. Normally, there is little value left in the draft.

Unfortunately, 2003 was a usually deep draft as the next three picks selected after Ebi were: Center of the 2008 NBA Championship Boston Celtics Kendrick Perkins, 2006-2007 NBA Sixth Man of the Year Leandro Barbosa and 2007 NBA All-Star Josh Howard.

New Jersey Nets

The Nets looked to an unusual place to pluck their first round draft pick in 2005 when they drafted Texas A&M’s Antoine Wright. At the time, no Aggie had ever been drafted as high in the NBA draft as Wright had been drafted. Unfortunately, Wright was not able to finish the storybook ending with a career that included being invited to the NBA All-star game.

Two players that the Nets wished they would have selected are Danny Granger and David Lee.

New Orleans Hornets

In 2007, the Hornets appeared to be in the market at the end of the lottery for a forward that could score. The two players on the board that could fit the bill were Julian Wright and Al Thorton.

The Hornets decided to take Wright who has been a bench player in the league with career numbers of three points, two rebounds a game. The Clippers with the next pick took Al Thorton whose career numbers of 10 points and four rebounds clearly show that Al was the better choice than Julian

New Orleans Hornets

In 2007, the Hornets appeared to be in the market at the end of the lottery for a forward that could score. The two players on the board that could fit the bill were Julian Wright and Al Thorton.

The Hornets decided to take Wright who has been a bench player in the league with career numbers of 3 points, 2 rebounds a game. The Clippers with the next pick took Al Thorton whose career numbers of 10 points and 4 rebounds clearly show that Al was the better choice than Julian

New York Knicks

The Knicks appeared to have made a solid choice in selecting Michael Sweetney from Georgetown in 2003 with the ninth pick in the draft. Sweetney was a National College Player of the Year finalist and was the only college player to rank among the top 20 players in scoring and rebounding in his last year at Georgetown. Unfortunately Sweetney could not keep himself away from the sweets and developed a weight issue that curtailed his NBA career.

Isaiah Thomas might have had a longer run at the helm of Knicks if New York had passed on Sweetney and instead selected one of the following forwards still on the board: David West, Boris Diaw, Mickael Pietrus or Josh Smith.

Oklahoma City Thunder/Seattle Supersonics

In 2004, the Supersonics selected Robert Swift with the 12th overall pick. The high school player from California found his way into the starting lineup for Seattle in 2006 but injured his ACL before the season. Swift never found his way back into the lineup and is now playing in the NBDL.

The Sonics/Thunder could have had Al Jefferson; Jefferson another high school player was selected three picks later.

Orlando Magic

The Magic could have been the team of the decade had they been able to get Fran Vazquez to leave Europe and play in the NBA. If the 6’11 240 pound Vazquez had joined Dwight Howard in Orlando, Magic fans might have been witness to one of the most dominating front court tandems in recent NBA history.

Unfortunately, Magic fans are still waiting to see if Vazquez is ever going to leave Spain. Instead of using their 11th pick in 2005 on Vazquez, the Magic could have enjoyed watching Danny Granger or David Lee playing alongside Howard.

Philadelphia 76ers

In 2002, the 76ers selected Jiri Welsch as they decided that it was their turn to go overseas for an international player to improve their team. Welsch had the right pedigree as he was a young phenom who began playing in the Czech Basketball league as a teenager. Welsch as the 16th pick in the first round by Philadelphia was therefore not a complete reach by the 76ers.

However, Philadelphia fans would have loved to have had a chance to see Tayshaun Prince or John Salmons on the wing.

Phoenix Suns

Casey Jacobson was a decent late first round pick in 2002 with the 22nd overall pick. Jacobson was a good role player for the Suns, averaging slightly more than six points a game for Phoenix. However, there was still very good talent left on the board as both Tayshaun Prince and John Salmons were available.

Portland Trailblazers

Which one to choose, Greg Oden or Kevin Durant? Do you go with Oden’s defense or Durant’s offense? In 2008, Portland went with Oden who has not been able to stay healthy and on the court whereas Durant has exploded onto the scene and appears to be ready to become one of the faces of the NBA.

Sacramento Kings

The Kings took a gamble in drafting guard Quincy Douby with the 19th pick in 2006. Douby is arguably the best player to ever play at Rutgers University and the first player from Rutgers to be drafted in the first round in 20 years. Quincy however was not able to make the transition to the NBA and is now playing in Turkey.

If Sacramento had taken a player from a school with more of a tradition, the Kings could have had Rajon Rondo who was taken with the 21st pick.

San Antonio Spurs

Did the San Antonio Spurs outsmart themselves in 2005 when they used the 28th pick to draft Ian Mahinmi? In the 2005 NBA draft guide–Mahinmi was not listed among the possible 128 players that would be drafted. Mahinmi was clearly a project player, this year he finally saw limited action for the Spurs after toiling in the Developmental League the past few seasons.

A player that would have been a good fit for Spurs style basketball would have been the 30th pick that year—David Lee.

Toronto Raptors

Toronto, apparently in need of a player with post presence, took Rafael Aruajo with the eighth pick in the 2004 draft. Aruajo starred at Brigham Young University averaging 18 points and 11 rebounds per game on his way to Co-Player of the Year honors in the Mountain West Conference.

Aruajo’s career in the NBA lasted only three years. He played briefly in Russia before returning to his native land Brazil to play for Paulistano.

If the Raptors had not been focused on drafting for need, they could have had Andre Iguodala with the next pick.

Utah Jazz

The Jazz needed a point guard in 2001, but the end of the first round of the draft does not generally provide many opportunities to find a championship caliber point guard. Utah decided to take a chance and go overseas to select Raul Lopez of Spain with the 25th overall pick.

Utah was right to look to Europe; they just picked the wrong European player. The San Antonio Spurs picked Tony Parker with the 29th pick and the Spurs never looked back while the Jazz remained bridesmaids during the decade.

Washington Wizards

The Wizards sought to hit a home run by drafting high school phenom Kwame Brown with the first overall pick in the draft in 2001. Instead of clearing the fence with a long towering drive, the Wizards ended up with a bloop single.

The next two players in the draft taken were also centers and would have been players that the Wizards could have built around–Tyson Chandler and Pao Gasol.